Final answer:
Critical theory emerged in response to socialist revolutions and the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany. It seeks to address inequality and provide practical goals for social transformation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Critical theory emerged as a result of the work of a group of early 20th-century Marxist German philosophers and social theorists at the Institute for Social Research at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. It originated in response to the political environment of socialist revolutions and the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany. Critical theory is an expansion of conflict theory and aims to address structural issues causing inequality. It seeks to explain what's wrong in current social reality, identify agents of change, and provide practical goals for social transformation.